Approved

Approved was a financial software company founded in 2015 that developed a digital mortgage platform. The firm's primary business was providing technology to lenders, such as banks and mortgage brokers, to modernize and streamline their loan origination process. This was achieved through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, where lending institutions paid to use the platform.

The company was founded by Andy Taylor, who served as CEO, and Navtej Sadhal, the CTO. Both founders are alumni of Redfin, bringing significant experience from the online real estate sector to their venture. Their journey began with a relocation from Silicon Valley to San Diego to participate in the EvoNexus incubator in May 2016. The company successfully raised a seed round of $1.05 million on April 11, 2017.

The Approved Digital Mortgage Platform was designed to enhance efficiency and transparency for all parties involved in a mortgage transaction. For lenders, it automated the collection of documents like bank statements and pay stubs and provided a library of digital loan templates. For borrowers, it offered a mobile-friendly interface to apply for loans, manage documents, track the loan process milestones, and use e-signatures. A key feature was the ability for borrowers to automatically collect and submit supporting documents by linking their banking credentials, which populated the loan application and saved time for lenders. By the time of its acquisition, the platform had processed nearly $5 billion in mortgage loan originations.

In a significant milestone, Approved was acquired by Credit Karma on August 16, 2018. The acquisition was a strategic move by Credit Karma to enter the mortgage industry and leverage Approved's technology to offer a digital mortgage experience to its large user base of over 80 million members. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Following the acquisition, the Approved team joined Credit Karma to integrate their platform and accelerate the mission of simplifying the mortgage process. Subsequently, Intuit acquired Credit Karma in a deal valued at approximately $7.1 billion, announced in February 2020. Keywords: mortgage technology, digital mortgage, loan origination software, fintech, proptech, Andy Taylor, Navtej Sadhal, Credit Karma acquisition, mortgage automation, back-office streamlining, loan application platform, document collection, e-signature, borrower experience, lender tools, EvoNexus alumni, Redfin alumni, SaaS, financial software, mortgage process transparency, real estate technology